Chapter 64

An urgent request for assistance was made to all the Knights, including the Imperial Elite Knights. Hizen was lost in thought as he read the Imperial Family’s letter adorned by a silver bird.

The battlefield was near the border, with snowstorms everywhere and dozens of top ranked monsters. It was a very difficult task when combining the situation and the climate. Furthermore, it was necessary to make a careful choice about how to reach the Kessen Empire if they failed.

With his eyes slightly down, Hizen was lost in thought. In normal times, he would have either done it himself or asked for the imperial wizards to join.

But he had to take a different path this time. This was because a large number of imperial wizards had been deployed to emergency missions, and the remaining ones could not leave the Imperial Palace empty.

Max’s expression standing by his side was calm. The reliable Commander would always make wise decisions.

“Max.”

“Yes, Commander-nim.”

“The mission will be supported by three new knights, including Kerian.”

After finishing his speech, Hizen wrote the names of the new knights in the letter. Max was embarrassed and asked back unknowingly.

“You mean the new members?”

“Yes.”

It was a choice hard to believe. The snow-covered terrain was an annoying battleground, even for top knights like Max. But he could not believe he had chosen young people who only joined the Division less than a year ago.

“What are you thinking?”

“Max.”

“Yes?”

“You’re not like usual. Where are you losing your mind?”

It was a dull but strong voice. When Max’s expression hardened, Hizen folded the letter in half and handed it to him.

Max’s fingertips were a little shaky when he received the letter.

“Now get out of Prince Elnos’ business.”

How long have you known? Max opened his surprised eyes wide. Hizen spoke low, paying attention to the pile of documents on his desk.

“And there is no need to waste manpower on this mission. Don’t worry about anything and just go get your eyes on it.”

Max’s cheeks heated up, as he realized he had been found out. His head went down, feeling guilty and sorry for deceiving him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Yes. Why did you do something to be sorry about?”

Max lowered his head even more at Hizen’s reprimand. Feeling like falling to the bottom, Max bit his lips.

Then, he heard Hizen’s low voice.

“Leasis’ ideal type. You said you’d let me know if I kept my promise.”

“…What?”

“I’ll let you go until your vacation. I can’t wait more than that.”

“…”

“I hope you understand. Get out.”

Hizen spoke annoyingly to Max, who was looking blankly at him. Hizen turned his head with a cough, as his ears were slightly red. He had brought up what he wanted to say about Leasis to Max, but it did not feel right.

Max nodded, giving strength to his dry throat.

“Okay.”

“Oh, and.”

As soon as Max was about to leave, Hizen opened the desk drawer. He took something wrapped in silk and handed it to Max.

What’s this? Max stared at him with wonder. Hizen said, scratching his head uncharacteristically.

“I have a favor to ask.”

A favor? They had been together for more than a decade, but Max was surprised because it was his first time hearing such a thing. Hizen hesitated and plucked up his courage to say.

“I’d appreciate it if you could tell this to Leasis on your way.”

* * *

With an order coming directly from the Imperial Family, the mission to guard the tomb of the former Empress was stopped. Leasis was a little puzzled, but not particularly curious about the reason.

Recently, there had been some positive changes for her. There were not many, but there were some knights who would sneaked in to get advice about swordsmanship from her. They were the ones who had remained until the end of the shadow killing training.

They did not like Leasis at first. However, watching her closely, she was a sincere knight without any tricks.

Besides, she was kind. Her skills were also outstanding. They knew that a mission on the same team as her would definetely succeed. Hearing about it through Max, Hizen was able to sleep soundly at night.

However, knights such as Karma and Onjet were different. As they regarded her as an eyesore, they were not happy with the change.

“You want to join her on this mission?”

“Yes.”

Karma frowned at the two knights who came to him. They were weak knights that were considered embarrassing because they did not show any good results in the 1st Division of Imperial Knights. They were always bowing their heads like sinners.

But today, they felt like other people. Their eyes were full of life. They were facing him clearly.

The increased morale was good, but it should not create any risk. Karma spoke warningly.

“This mission is located on a snowfield swarming with top-ranked monsters. You’re called as support, but it might not end with a simple injury.”

“It’s fine.”

Karma, with his arms folded, was lost in thought. Perhaps she was learning forbidden swordsmanship and spreading it to the members.

Agonizing over it, he came to a conclusion. He had to send a lot of knights, including Onjet, for the mission to be successful. With more eyes, the watch would be easier and they would be safer.

“All right.”

The knights were very pleased with Karma’s permission.

The knights part of the support team were all wearing thick coats as they gathered in front of the gate. But there was something unique. The number of knights from the Imperial Elite Knights was much smaller than that of the other divisions. There were more than a dozen of other knights, but only three Imperial Elite Knights.

As a result, the knights were murmuring that the Imperial Elite Knights were too arrogant.

Among them, Hizen’s name was also cursed, so Leasis’ expression changed subtly. She could not stand it any more and shouted loudly at the gate.

“Count Dratius-nim!”

“C-Count Dratius-nim?”

The knights turned their heads in panic. However, they could only see Leasis’ smiling face. As they looked embarrassed, she asked innocently.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Was she playing with them? The knights tried to pull out their swords with threatening faces. Of course, Leasis was faster.

In the blink of an eye, a blue light rose like a flame on her wooden sword aimed at the knights. Even a faint white energy was mixed inside the blue aura, and they could feel its deep liveliness.

Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing saliva entered her ears. Leasis whispered softly.

“You can’t say such things in front of him, right? For those who are itching to talk, please come to me first. I’ll listen to you with all my heart.”

“…”

Leasis calmly swung her wooden sword. Then she said in a voice that did not have an ounce of joking.

“Of course, if you say something ridiculous, I will follow the procedure I think about later. Very fairly.”

The master and the maid. Thanks to Count Dratius’ former direct maid, the surrounding area became as quiet as a tomb. Onjet and some knights chattered, saying ‘that woman is crazy, too’.

‘You don’t even know him well, but you curse at our Count-nim.’

Hmm. Leasis stared at them one more time and turned around. Leaning against the gate, she fiddled with the hem of her coat that fitted her perfectly, and fell into thoughts.

Just before coming here, Max had come to her room. He had gave her an unexpected present.

[As expected, our Commander-nim seems to have foresight. I can’t believe you’re going as a support to that cold place. Here’s the present from the Commander-nim.]

[Oh… thank you!]

[Huhu. And there’s a message to tell you separately.]

Max’s warm voice entered her ears as she waited.

[Leasis, you are one of the few great knights I can trust. There is no mission that you cannot succeed. Don’t pay attention to them, and move with confidence.]

‘I will.’

Leasis’ red eyes shone with enthusiasm. She smiled as she saw for the first time a perfect coat for her body shape.

She put her hand in her pocket and put a blue rose brooch on her coat. But she felt something else in the coat pocket.

* * *

The large magic circle moved dozens of knights to the frozen battlefield.

The faces of the knights standing on the magic circle turned white. The snow field was full of human guts and blood. The only fortunate thing was that they could not feel the disgusting smell because of the cold freezing their noses.

Snowflakes fluttering in the snow caught Leasis’ eyes. She was lost in thought, gazing over the enchanting, picturesque snowfield.

In the meantime, the knights sweared and went into the operation barracks. Inside the large barracks stood a man with sky-blue hair. He was so tall that his head reached the ceiling, and his beast-like aura was shining dangerously between the walls.

Pranin Ryue Kyun. He was a member of the Kyun family, and one of the war heroes. The knights recognized the esteemed officer and shouted at the top of their voices to salute him.

“I see Sir Pranin…”

“Too loud.”

Pranin pulled out a sword and pointed it at the knights’ necks. White energy appeared at the end of it, so the knights swallowed dry saliva.

Pranin warned them with a ferocious look.

“With half of the troops here and a monster that was barely put to sleep, please make an even bigger fuss if you think that’s a good idea. Of course you’ll die first before you can do it.”

Everyone became dumbfounded at his nervous words. Pranin glanced at them and cursed. He had asked for proper reinforcements, but more than half of these idiots looked blind.

Still, the Imperial Elite Knights must be competent. Pranin looked at the knights in black uniforms with eyes mixed with anticipation. Contrary to his expectations, however, they were young people with fluffy faces.

Had Hizen lost his sense? He had always been clever. Pranin pressed on his temple with his hand, after removing his gauntlet. Even if everyone else was unreliable, he believed in Hizen, with whom he had spent a lot of time in the past.

At that time, a young man noticed his questions and raised his hand. He was an ordinary young man with a modest impression, wearing a black uniform.

“Officer-nim.”

“What?”

“I have a letter from Count Dratius-nim.”

It was good to hear, so Pranin reached out his hand. The young man handed him a letter with a blue pattern on it.

Pranin’s expression gradually eased as he read the letter. He smiled at the unimaginable operation described by the elegant handwriting.

“Hooray. A magical construction. As expected of Count Dratius.”

Hizen’s proposed operation was to build an emergency building. It was a tactic to avoid battle by temporarily building a wall on the battlefield and stacking it high. But it was an ‘ice castle’, not a typical battlefield construction.

The three members of the Imperial Elite Knights were excellent magic swordsmen. With them, it would be possible to build a fortress wall and set it up in half a day.

There was no better idea than this tactic at a time when visibility was difficult and the troops were inferior in number.

However, the problem was to escort the three knights until the obstacle was installed. In this terrain, where it was difficult to stand still and keep one’s balance, he needed talent to protect the knights and fight against the top monsters. Someone as talented as Hizen.

“Officer-nim.”

When he turned his head to the low call, he saw a red-haired knight. Was she a member of the 1st Division of Imperial Knights?

Her red eyes and her voice were full of confidence.

“Why don’t we set up a vocal barrier? The defense will be weak when the magic swordsmen cast their spells, so if we set up a vocal barrier near them, they will have a perfect escort.”

“The idea is good, but it’s impossible. This battlefield has no core to set up a normal vocal barrier because of the biting wind.”

Leasis took something out of her coat pocket. It was small round blue bells looking like melted sapphires, and a thin string of silver thread connecting thousands of them.

Pranin recognized them at a glance. They were the family heirloom ‘The Vocal Barrier of the Bells’ created by the outstanding wizards of the Ichrissen family. It was a noble object that only went against evil spirit.

Its installation method was relatively easy. They only had to put the magic stones on the floor and connect the silver string to each of them.

Of course, it was a little cumbersome to set up the magic stones with a sword, but the effect was excellent. As the monsters got close, the blue bells would vibrate and make a clear sound, and the silver string would shine brightly.

Are you a member of the Ichrissen family? Pranin looked at Leasis with astonishment. However, the girl’s red hair was different from the Ichrissen family’s distinctive blue hair.

“Where does it come from?”

“I received it.”

Leasis’ cheeks turned slightly red. In fact, her coat was packed with small notes and magic supplies for the battlefield. All of them had been prepared by Hizen in advance.

As usual, Hizen knew everything about the battlefield, so he had asked Tatar for cooperation before sending in reinforcements. Of course, Tatar, who had been helped the other day, happily lent his family heirloom.

Pranin nodded with a satisfied look. Certainly, this object could detect the movements of magic creatures, even if they were as small as flies, and could ease various constraints. A perfect plan was drawn in his head.

Leasis handed Pranin the magic item. As she slightly bowed her and stepped back, he asked her curiously.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Leasis, a trainee of the 1st Division of Imperial Knights.”

“A trainee?”

“Yes.”

His sky blue eyebrows went up. Pranin could be sure that this trainee was better than those idiots. It was an intuition he had after spending a long time on the battlefield. But she was just a trainee.

However, he quickly discarded his questions. Pranin’s top priority was the battlefield. He selected Leasis and five seemingly usable knights.